Product Description

Little Bear and friends get ill and get better.
Genre: Children's Video
Rating: NR
Release Date: 21-OCT-2005
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9632 in DVD
• Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2003-10-07
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 102 minutes

From the Back Cover
Based on the books written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. What's the best recipe for feeling better when you're under the weather? Chicken broth? A hot cloth? Staying in bed? A towel on the head? Little Bear tries them all, but finds out in these 4 sweet stories that family and friends are always the best medicine.

Episodes:

"Between Friends"

"Pillow Hill"

"Little Bear's Sweet Tooth"

"A Flu"

Bonus episodes from "Meet Little Bear" and "Goodnight Little Bear" videos:

"What will Little Bear Wear?"

"Hide and Seek"

"Little Bear Goes to the Moon"

"Gone Fishing"

"Under the Covers"

"The Campfire Tale"

"Up All Night"

"Night of the Full Moon" END

Customer Reviews

Little Bear is enchanting
I was introduced to Little Bear through the network Noggin. My son (now 3.5) has been watching little Bear for about a year now and loves these quiet, happy tales. They are so calming and soothing. I find myself being drawn into them just like my son. Adorable!!

This DVD is great. With 12 individual vinettes the watching goes on for 2 hours. That is a deal!!

I wish they would bring out the box set of all the Little Bear episodes. I would buy it in a heartbeat!!

Laughs and Lessons for Little Viewers
I suspect that most parents of young children in North America are well aware of Little Bear from Noggin or Nick Jr. Based on the book series of the same name published in the 1950s-60s and illustrated by Maurice Sendak (most famous for "Where the Wild Things Are"), this program is outstanding for preschool-aged children for a number of reasons.

1) First off, each story is only 7 1/2 minutes long + a 1-minute intro. This is ideal for the short attention spans of the target audience.
2) Secondly, the pacing and tone are fun, but very mellow. The music is soothing, the mood is very happy throughout, and the end result is a calm, peaceful viewer.
3) The stories specifically target the development stage of the preschool age group. No matter what the plot, the stories always capture the sense of curiosity and adventure of that age. Little Bear lets his imagination soar, plays make believe, and dreams wonderful dreams. The writers nail the curiosity, exploration, and discovery that are so wonderful in pre-schoolers.
4) Each story also demonstrates the value of family and friendship. Little Bear's parents interact with him in a meaningful, playful way on his level. And his friends are true friends, sharing many of their adventures together, solving problems together, and evincing real empathy for one another.

Regarding this specific DVD, as the title suggests, the four main stories focus on the various symptoms and experiences of common childhood illnesses (colds, flu, mumps, frog in the throat). Family and friends help ease Little Bear's loneliness and the result is a lot of fun. But the disk also includes 8 "Bonus" stories about various other topics.

If you select the "Play All" option on the DVD, you will see the 4 main stories (about 34 minutes), but you'll miss out on two-thirds of the total material on this disk. To access the other 8 stories, choose the "Episode Selection" option, scroll past the two pages with the main stories, and then select Bonus Episodes to see a list.

I do not know why Nelvana chose to bury the other 8 episodes this way. Maybe I should just chalk that up to my own laziness for always selecting Play All and not discovering the others for several months. Ah well, my boys have forgiven me. Hopefully, I can not help others to avoid the same mistake.

Enjoy the DVD. The stories are wholesome enough that you can put them on and let the children watch on their own for a few minutes if you need a break, but they're also fun to watch together. The show demonstrates and, thus, encourages healthy interaction between parents and their preschoolers.

Each story is loaded with laughs and lessons for Little Bear and our little viewers.

Little Bear and his Zen Master Friends
Is there a better childrens show out there? No, there isn't. LB, Duck, Cat and Owl define what childhood should be...living life in the moment, knowing you are loved. Magnificent simplicity! My daughter continues to be enchanted, it's been 4 years now since we started watching these episodes....bring on all the shows on a complete set. Highly reccomended...lose the ritalin, bring on Little Bear.